Cloth board for axminster looms



Aug. 18, 1942. w, ROBB 2,293,561

CLOTH BOARD FOR AXMINSTER LOOMS Filed Nov. .3, 1941 INVENTOR WALTER Y Roaa ZLHVYW ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 18, 1942 CLOTH BOARD FOR AXMINSTER.LOOMS Walter Y. Robb, Whitinsville, Mass, assignor to Crompton & KnowlesLoom Works, Worcester,

Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 3, 1941,Serial No. 417,609

13 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in Axminster looms and it is thegeneral object of the invention to provide a cloth board so constructedas to permit the weaving of pile tufts of different heights.

In looms of the type set forth in Patent No. 1,958,129 the cloth boardis formed with a plurality of spaced teeth each having an upstandinghook over which the weft and tufts are beaten by the lay. After the tubeframe has been lifted to pull off yarn for the next row of tufts whichit is to provide the tuft is severed from the tube frame by cutters. Thecutters operate to cut the tufts at a given level in the loom and theheight of pile in the fabric is determined by the distance between thetop of the cloth board on which the fabric rests and the cutting level.As heretofore constructed the nose board has been useful for but oneheight of tufts and when it was desired to use the same loom for weavingboth high and low tuft fabrics it would be necessary to use twodifferent nose boards, one with a relatively low supporting fabricsurface and the other with a higher supporting surface.

It is an important object of my present invention to provide a noseboard made to weave high pile tufts and provide a plate which can beattached to the nose board to raise the level of the fabric supportingsurface so that lower pile tufts can be woven. By this construction thesame nose board may be used for both high and low tufts merely by addingthe plate when low tufts are desired and no adjustment need be madebetween the cutters and the tops of the nose board hooks.

Axminster looms of the type to which my invention more particularlyapplies operate with a reed the dents of which move into the slots orspaces between the nose board teeth to positions in front of the hooks,and it is a further object of my present invention to provide the rearedge of the cloth supporting auxiliary plate with teeth aligned with theteeth of the nose board and spaced to accommodate the reed dents.

In order that the nose board may be self cleaning I form it with convexbackwardly directed surfaces between the teeth and form the auxiliaryplate with upwardly and forwardly inclined surfaces between its teethwhich are substantially tangent to the convex surfaces of the noseboard.

It has been customary heretofore to slant the fabric supporting surfaceof the cloth board downwardly and forwardly. When low tufts are beingwoven they tend because of the inclination of the supporting surface toslant away from the cutter with the result that the tufts are of unevenheights. It is a further object of my present invention to provide theauxiliary supporting plate with an upper surface immediately in front ofthe nose board hooks which shall be so disposed as to cause the tufts tobe perpendicular to the plane of support. I make this surfacesubstantially horizontal to cause the short piles to stand erect duringthe cutting operation so that the piles will be of more uniform heightthan heretofore.

The weft laying needle, the cutting mechanism, and the harnesses operatein the same manner for both the high and the low tufts, that is, withand without my auxiliary plate. When the plate is absent the warp shedis in relatively low position but when the plate is used the shed iselevated by the amount of the thickness of the plate. In order that theplate may be used without requiring a change in the needle motion theharnesses are set so that the needle will enter the upper part of theshed when the plate is absent and the shed is low, and will enter thelower part of the shed when the plate is present and elevates the shed.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein a convenient embodiment of myinvention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a transverse section through part of an Axminster m showing myinvention applied to the nose board,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged portion of Fig. 1 showing the reed in forwardbeat-up position and the loom set to weave a low tuft by means of myauxiliary plate,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the plate removed so thatthe loom will weave high tuft fabrics,

Fig. 4 is a plan view in the direction of arrow 4, Fig. 2, showing aportion of my improved auxiliary plate, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, I have shown an Axminster loom frameIt supporting a breast beam II and lay shaft I2. The lay I3 is mountedon arms 14 secured to the shaft [2 and supports the reed dents R whichlie between the upper and lower warp threads W and W, respectively,which form the warp shed S. The harness frames I5 maybe of usualconstruction but will be set with respect to the weft needle N in amanner to be described hereinafter.

The loom operates with a series of tube frames T one of which is shownin Fig. 1. These tube frames move progressively to operative positionand are then conveyed by transfer arms [5 to the tuft forming positionshown in Fig. 1. Each tube frame is provided with a spool H from whichleads a plurality of yarns Y projecting through spaced tubes I8 whichare moved downwardly through the warp shed during the tuft formingoperation of the loom.

A nose board is secured to the breast beam I I and is provided with abody 2f from the rear part of which projects a plurality of spaced teeth22 each for-med with an upstanding tuft forming hook 23. The teeth 22are separated by slots 24 which receive the reed dents R and their rearsurfaces are curved as at 25 to assist in moving the lower part of thetuft yarn from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2 whenthe reed beats forwardly.

The needle N of the usual construction lays a double pick of weft in thewarp shed S and is moved into and out of the shed in timed relation withthe oscillation of the lay. Front and back cutter blades and 3|,respectively, may be of the usual construction and are operated in theordinary manner to cut the U-shaped tufts or piles from the yarns Ycarried by the tube frame, the front or ledger blades 39 being heldstationary while the rear cutting blade 3! is moved forwardly.

Separator plates for the tuft yarns, similar to those shown in PatentNo. 1,958,129, are mounted on a bar 35 supported by rocking levers 31,one of which is shown in Fig. 1, pivoted at 38 to bracket 39. The platesare manipulated to move rearwardly through the slots 24 between theteeth 22 to align with it the reed place them against the rear surfaces25 of the i teeth 22. The needle N then enters the shed while the reedis in back position to lay a filling shot, after which the reed advancesto move the shot of filling and the tufts up the rear surfaces 25 andover the hooks 23 to positions in front of the latter as indicated inFig. 2. The tube frame is then lifted to pull off yarn for the next rowof tufts which it is to form and the cutters are moved toward each otherto cut the U-shaped tuft from the yarns Y while the reed is in backwardposition. The tube frame is then returned to its transporting chain andanother tube frame is moved by the arms I5 from the chain toward thecloth and the operation just described is repeated.

For a further understanding of the structure and operation of myinvention reference me?! be had to prior Patents Nos. 1,958,129;1,958,130;

1,973,357, and 2,057,394.

In the structure already described the parts are so related as to beadapted for the weaving of high pile tufts, that is, the tops of thehooks 23 are relatively high above the top surface 49 of the cloth boardand the U-shaped tuft as shown in Fig. 2 will be relatively long.

fastened to the nose board by screws 51.

My invention relates to means for adapting the loom for weaving low piletufts with a minimum of change, and in carrying my invention into effectI provide an auxiliary plate, designated generally at P and shown inFigs. 1, 2, 4, and 5, to be fastened to the upper part of the noseboard. This plate has its rear edge provided with a series of rearwardlyextending teeth separated by spaces or slots 45 and is The teeth areintegral with the web or body 59 of the plate and their upper surfaces5! are preferably inclined rearwardly and downwardly with respect tosurface so and'to the top surface 52 of the Web 55!.

The height of the rear part of each tooth 45 determines the height ofthe pile to be woven when the plate is employed. The rear end of eachtooth d5 terminates close to its correspond" ing hook 255 so that eachnew row of tufts as it is beaten over the hooks will fall on the rearpart of the teeth 35. Each tooth Q5 lies over and is aligned with a noseboard tooth 22 under it and is also aligned with a horn 23.

As shown in Fig. 5 the front ends of slots 2 in the nose board 2! areformed by rearwardly directed convex surfaces 55 on web 59 between teeth45. The surfaces 55 assist in removing lint from the slots 26 as thereed heats up and the fabric advances. In order that the auxiliary platemay be adapted for removal of lint I form the rear parts of the web 59'between fingers 45 with forwardly and upwardly inclined surfaces 56which are preferably tangent to the upper part of the curved surfaces55, as shown in Fig. 5.

It is believed that the operation of my invention will be apparent fromthe foregoing description. When high pi es are to be woven the plate isremoved as indicated in Fig. 3, but when low piles are to be woven theplate is secured to the nose board as indicated in Figs. 2 and 5,thereby effectively elevating the level at which the fabric is supportedwith respect to the nose board 29. The slots 46 receive the reed dents Ras the latter beat forwardly and the teeth .5 are aligned with and ineffect form upward extensions from the teeth 22. The rear ends of theteeth 35 lie close to the hooks or horns 23 to afford proper support forthe tufts as they are beaten to their forward positions indicated inFigs. 2 and 5.

It will be apparent that when the auxiliary plate is absent as suggestedin Fig. 3 the fabric F will be in relatively low position and the warpshed S will be low as suggested in Fig. 3. When in this position theneedle N enters the upper part of the warp shed, being slightly closerto the top warps W than to the bottom warps W. When the auxiliary plateis in position as indicated in Fig. 2, however, the cloth is relativelyhigh and the warp shed elevated, in which case the needle as it entersthe shed will be nearer the bottom warps W. The shed is made by theharness frames 15 and the latter cause a sufficient opening of the warpthreads to accommodate the needle whether the plate be used or omitted.

A further feature of my invention relates to the previously describedsurfaces 5| which, as shown in Fig 5, are inclined with respect to thesurface 40 and substantially horizontal in order to support the lowtufts in a position which causes them to be in a more nearly verticalposition during the cutting operation than heretofore. The cutting iseffected by holding the front ledger knife 39 stationary and moving therear cutting knife 3| forwardly. The tube frame holds the yarn invertical position at right angles to surfaces 5| and both the front andback strands of the tuft tend to remain in erect position and aretherefore of the same length after the cutting operation.

Herein I have shown but one plate P with teeth 45 of one height, but Ido not wish thus to be limited. It is within the spirit of my inventionto provide other plates each attachable to the nose board but varyingslightly as to height of the teeth 45.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided simple means foradapting a loom for the weaving of either high or low pile fabrics bythe use of an auxiliary plate which when present adapts the loom for theweaving of low tuft fabrics and when absent permits the weaving ofhigher tuft fabrics. It will also be seen that the auxiliarly plate isprovided with teeth which are in vertical alignment with the teeth ofthe nose board and terminate at their rear ends close to the horns orhooks 23. The forwardly and upwardly inclined surfaces 56 are tangent toconvex surfaces 55 of the nose board and cooperate with the latter toassist in the removal of lint from the slots 24 and 46. Furthermore, theharnesses operate to provide a sufficiently wide shed to receive theweft needle whether the plate be used or omitted. It will also beapparent that no change is required in either the cutting mechanism, thereed, the needle or the harness mechanism when the plate P is applied tothe nose board. Also, the surfaces 5| are so related to the yarns Y andthe cutters as to produce a tuft the front and back strands of which arethe same height.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In an Axminster loom to weave fabrics having either high or low piletufts, the loom operating with a tube frame from which project tuftyarns to be formed into pile tufts and having cutter mechanism operatingat a given level to cut the pile tufts from the yarns of the tube frame,a nose board having a top cloth supporting surface from which tuftforming hooks project upwardly far enough above said top surface toassist in forming relatively high pile tufts, and an auxiliary platesecured to the top of the nose board in front of said hooks and having acloth supporting surface above the top surface of the nose board 'andbelow said hooks to cooperate with the latter to form low pile tufts,said cutter mechanism operating at said given level and the tops of saidhooks remaining in the same position relatively to said lever whethersaid plate be present or absent.

2. In an Axminster l oomto weave fabrics having either high or low piletufts, the loom operating with a tube frame from which project tuftyarns to be formed into pile tufts and having cutter mechanism operatingat a given level to cut the pile tufts from the yarns of the tube frame,two different cloth supporting means one to support the other, said onemeans comprising a permanent nose board having a cloth supportingsurface a given distance under said cutting level, hooks projectingupwardly from said nose board above said supporting surface to assist informing pile tufts, and the other of said means comprising a memberremovably secured to said nose board in front of said hooks and having acloth supporting surface below the tops of said hooks and located at adistance under said cutting level less than said given distance, thehooks cooperating with the said other means to form low pile tufts whensaid member is present, and said hooks and nose board cooperating toform high pile tufts when said member has been removed from the noseboard.

3. In an Axminster loom operating with a tube frame from which tuftyarns project to be inserted between warp threads forming a warp shed, anose board provided with spaced teeth from the upper cloth supportingsurface of each of which projects an upwardly extending hook whichassists in forming pile tufts in the tuft yarns during the tuft formingoperation of the loom, tuft yarn cutting mechanism operating at a givenlevel above said hooks to cut the tufts from the yarns carried by thetube frame, and a removable plate formed with a cloth supporting surfacesecured to the nose board above said upper surfaces of said nose boardteeth and in front of said hooks and having a cloth supporting surfacebelow said hooks, said plate and hooks cooperating to form low piletufts, and said nose board and hooks cooperating to form high pile tuftswhen said plate is removed, said cutter mechanism operating at saidgiven level and the tops of said hooks remaining in the same positionrelatively to said level whether said plate be present or absent.

In an Axminster loom operating with a tube frame from which tuft yarnsproject to be inserted between warp threads forming a warp shed, a noseboard provided with spaced teeth from the upper cloth supporting surfaceof each of which projects an upwardly extending hook which assists informing pile tufts in the tuft yarns during the tuft forming operationof the loom, tuft yarn cutting mechanism operating at a given levelabove said hooks to cut the tufts from the yarns carried by the tubeframe, and a removable plate secured to said nose board in front of saidhools and having a top cloth supporting surface above said uppersurfaces of said teeth and below the tops of said hooks, the top surfaceof said plate being a relatively small vertical distance below the topsof said hooks to cause the weaving of low pile tufts when said plate ispresent, and the vertical distance between the tops of said hooks andthe upper surface of said teeth being greater than said small distanceto cause weaving of high pile tufts when said plate is absent, saidcutter mechanism operating at said given level and the tops of saidhooks remaining in the same position relatively to said level whethersaid plate be present or absent.

5. In an Axminster loom to weave fabrics having either high or low piletufts, the loom operatingwith a tube frame from which project tuft yarnsto be formed into pile tufts and having cutter mechanism operating at agiven level to cut the pile tufts from the yarns of the tube frame, aset of spaced tuft forming hooks located below the cutting level andbehind the pile tufts to support the latter against rearward motion whenthe pile tufts are being cut, and two different means to define twodifferent levels for supporting the cloth either in low position for theformation of high pile tufts or in high position for the formation oflow pile tufts, the first means comprising a nose board having a clothsupporting surface below the level of the tops of said hooks andcooperating with the latter to form high pile tufts, and the other meanscomprising an auxiliary plate secured to the top of the nose board andhaving a cloth supporting surface located between the level of the topsof the hooks and the level of the cloth supporting surface on the noseboard and cooperating with said hooks to form low pile tufts, saidcutting level and the tops of the hooks remaining in the same positionwhether low tufts are being formed with the plate or high plates arebeing formed without the plate.

6. In an Axininster loom to weave fabrics having either high or low piletufts, the loom operating with a tube frame from which project tuftyarns to be formed into pile tufts and having cutting mechanismoperating at a given level to cut the pile tufts from the yarns of thetube frame, a nose board having a top cloth supporting surface andprovided with rearwardly projecting spaced teeth each provided with atuft forming hook which extends upwardly to a level above said clothsupporting surface, a reed having dents to move forwardly between saidteeth to positions in front of said hooks, an auxiliary removable platesecured to the cloth board in front of said hooks and having a clothsupporting surface between the levels of the tops of the hooks and thecloth supporting surface of the nose board, and spaced teeth formed onthe rear edge of said auxiliary plate and aligned with the hooks andteeth of the nose board, the reed dents when moving forwardly passingbetween the teeth of said auxiliary plate, the plate when presentcooperating with the hooks to form relatively low pile tufts and thenose board cooperating with the hooks when the auxiliary plate is absentto form relatively high pile tufts.

7. In an Axminster loom to weave fabrics having either high or low piletufts, the loom operating with a tube frame from which project tuftyarns to be formed into pile tufts and having cutting mechanismoperating at a given level to cut the pile tufts from the tube frame, anose board having a top cloth supporting surface and provided withrearwardly projecting spaced teeth each provided with a tuft forminghook which extends upwardly to a level above said cloth supportingsurface, a reed having dents to move forwardly between said teeth topositions in front of said hooks, an auxiliary plate secured to the topof the nose board and having a cloth supporting surface above the levelof the cloth supporting surface of the nose board and below the level ofthe tops of the hooks, and spaced teeth formed on the rear edge of saidauxiliary plate in alignment with the teeth and hooks of the nose boardand projecting rearwardly to positions closely adjacent to the frontportions of said hooks, the reed dents moving forwardly between theteeth of the nose board and the auxiliary plate during a tuft formingoperation of the loom, said plate when present cooperating with thehooks to form relatively low pile tufts, and said nose board cooperatingwith the hooks when the auxiliary plate is absent to form relativelyhigh pile tufts.

8. In an Axminster loom to weave fabrics having either high or low piletufts and operating with a tube frame from which project tuft yarns tobe formed into pile tufts which are cut at a given level from the yarnsof the tube frame, a weft laying needle operating at the same levelwhether high or low pile tufts are being woven, harness mechanism toform a warp shed higher at the point entered by the needle than thevertical dimension of the latter, a nose board having spaced teethbetween which the warp threads of the shed lie and having a clothsupporting surface, each tooth having an upwardly extending tuft forminghook projecting above said surface, and an auxiliary plate supported onthe nose board and having a cloth supporting surface between the clothsupporting surface of the nose board and the level of the tops of saidhooks, said plate when present cooperating with the hooks to form lowpile tufts and acting to raise the warp shed to cause the needle toenter the lower part of the shed, and the nose board cooperating withthe hooks when the plate is absent to form high pile tufts and causingthe warp shed to be in low position so that the needle enters the upperpart of said warp shed, said cutting and harness mechanisms and theneedle each operating at its respective elevation whether the plate bepresent or absent.

9. In an Axminster loom to weave fabrics having either high or low piletufts and operating with a tube frame from which project tuft yarns tobe formed into pile tufts which are thereafter cut at a given level fromthe yarns of the tube frame, a weft laying needle having a weftinserting motion at a given level whether high or low pile tufts arebeing woven, harness mechanism to produce a shed in the warp threadshigher at the point entered by the needle than that needed for entry ofthe needle, and two means to support the cloth at two different levels,one of said means comprising a nose board having a cloth supportingsurface under the cutting level and having tuft forming hooks projectingupwardly from the cloth supporting surface, and the other meanscomprising an auxiliary plate attached to the nose board and having acloth supporting surface between the cloth supporting surface of thenose board and the level of the tops of the hooks and under said cuttinglevel, said nose board when the plate is absent cooperating with thehooks to form hi h pile tufts and locating the fell of the cloth inrelatively low position to cause the needle to enter the upper part ofthe warp shed, and said plate when present cooperating with the hooks toform low pile tufts and locating the fell of the cloth in relativelyhigh position to cause the needle to enter the lower part of the warpshed.

10. In an Axminster loom to weave fabrics having either high or low piletufts, the loom operating with a tube frame from which project tuftyarns to be formed into pile tufts and having cutting mechanismoperating at a given level to cut the pile tufts from the tube frame, anose board having a top cloth supporting surface and provided withrearwardly projecting spaced hooks each provided with an upwardlyextending tuft forming hook, and an auxiliary plate secured to the topof the nose board in front of the hooks and having a cloth supportingsurface located between the level of the tops of the hooks and the levelof the cloth supporting surface of the nose board and disposedsubstantially perpendicular to the yarn which extends upwardly from thefabric being woven to the tube frame prior to cutting, said platecooperating with the hooks to form low pile tufts, and the nose boardcooperating with said hooks when the plate is absent to form high piletufts.

11, In an Axminster loom operating with a tube frame from which projecttuft yarns the free ends of which are bent rearwardly and upwardly toprovide pile tufts, the front part of the pile tufts extendingsubstantially vertically upwardly from the cloth being woven to the tubeframe, cutting mechanism operating at a given level to cut the piletufts from the yarns carried by the tube frame, a nose board having atop cloth supporting surface and provided with a plurality of spacedrearwardly projecting teeth each provided with an upwardly projectinghook the top of which is above the level of the cloth supporting surfaceof the nose board, and an auxiliary plate secured to the top surface ofthe nose board and having a cloth supporting surface located between thelevel of the tops of the hooks and the cloth supporting surface of thenose board, said cloth supporting surface of the plate lying in front ofand below the level of the tops of the hooks and extending substantiallyhorizontal and at right angles to the front part of the tufts prior tocutting, the plate when present cooperating with the hooks to form lowpile tufts, and the nose board cooperating with the hooks when the plateis absent to form high pile tufts.

12. A cloth supporting plate for an Axminster loom having a nose boardprovided with a top cloth supporting surface and rearwardly projectingspaced teeth each formed with an upwardly projecting tuft forming hook,said plate comprising a flat body having provision for attachment to thenose board, and a series of spaced teeth along the rear edge of saidplate to be aligned with the teeth of the nose board and located infront of the hooks when said plate is attached to the nose board, saidplate having a cloth supporting surface to be located between the levelsof the tops of the hooks and said top surface of the nose board whensaid plate is secured to said nose board.

13. A cloth supporting plate for an Axminster loom having a nose boardprovided with a top cloth supporting surface and rearwardly projectingspaced teeth each formed with an upwardly projecting tuft forming hook,said plate comprising a flat body having provision for attachment to thenose board over said cloth supporting surface of the nose board, and aseries of spaced teeth along the rear edge of said plate to be alignedwith the teeth of the nose board and located in front of the hooks whensaid plate is attached to the nose board, said plate having a top clothsupporting surface which is located between the levels of the tops ofthe hooks and the top cloth supporting surface of the nose board whensaid plate is secured to said nose board, the cloth supporting surfaceof said plate having a portion which is substantially horizontal whensaid plate is attached to the nose board.

WALTER Y. ROBB.

